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New Mexican (Newspaper) - December 13, 2005, Santa Fe, New Mexico
NEW THE SANTA FE DECEMBER TUESDAY 50 CENTS Study No harm yet from wage law WAGE STUDY AT A GLANCE Among conclusions in a preliminary study of the impact of the city of Santa Fes hourly minimum wage The law hasnt harmed the local economy which continues to show strong job growth and less reliance on socialassistance programs Owners of affected business have for the most part adapted to the requirement but many are pessi mistic that a scheduled increase to on Jan 1 will hurt their bottom line push prices higher and possibly lead to closures By Bob Quick The New Mexican Hie citys minimumwage ordinance doesnt seem to have harmed Santa Fes economy according to a preliminary analysis released Monday by The University of New Mexicos Bureau of Business and Economic Research In fact job growth is strong and reliance on socialassistance programs in Santa Fe County is down since the city7 imposed the hourly minimum on employers with more than two dozen workers While business owners surveyed for the 85page report have adapted to the level for the most part many are pessimistic about how a scheduled increase to on Jan 1 will affect their enterprises and the cost of living in Santa Fe The report will be followed in May 2006 by the release of a more comprehensive study said Lee Reynis director of the research bureau The preliminary study was issued just days before the City Council is scheduled to con sider whether to delay the next minimum wage increase Some councilors have said they want to put off the increase until they have a clear picture of the municipal wage laws economic impact The state and federal minimum remain at an hour The preliminary study covers the time period from mid2004 when the ordinance Please see WAGE Page A6 Honoring Our Lady ofGuadalupe WAR IN IRAQ Above Aztec dancers from the group Ehechei perform a ceremony at the Cathedral Basilica of St Francis of Assist on Monday evening during the celebration of Mass on the feast day of Our Lady of Guadalupe Left Dina Marie Chavez of Santa Fe prays after lighting a candle at one of the altars at the cathedral Monday Photos by Luis Sanchez Saturno The New Mexican Bush Iraqis have been killed President defends war in unscripted question session following speech By Nedra Pickler The Associated Press PHILADELPHIA hi a rare unscripted moment President Bush on Monday estimated Iraqis have died in the war the first time he has publicly acknowl edged the high price Iraqis have paid in the push for democracy In the midst of a campaign to win support for the unpopular war Bush unexpectedly invited questions from the World Affairs Council of Philadelphia after a speech asserting that Iraq was making progress despite violence flawed elections and other set backs He immediately was challenged about the number of Iraqis who have lost their lives since the beginning of the war I would say more or less have died as a result of the initial incursion and the ongoing violence against Bush said Weve lost about of our own troops in The military does not release its tally of Iraqi dead but there is some consensus from out side experts that roughly is a credible number White House counselor Dan Bartlett said Bush was not giving an official figure but simply repeating public esti mates Another questioner challenged Please see BUSH Page A3 BACK STORY DAYS IN IRAQ Today marks the day of the war in Iraq Some basic facts about the conflict CASUALTIES forces have been killed including 44 women soldiers have been wounded On average 37 soldiers a month are shipped home because of psy chiatric prob lems 201 Coalition forces have been killed in Iraq including 98 from Britain 27 from Italy 18 from Ukraine 17 from Poland 13 from Bulgaria and 11 from Spain to is a rough estimate of the number of Iraqi civilians who lost their lives for war related reasons since May 2003 SOURCES The Brookings Institution The Wall Street Journal Iraq Minister of interior INSIDE More facts on Iraq A3 Governor relies on police copter for journeys across state Is travels from border to E By Barry Massey The Associated Press empr hopped aboard the state polices speedy million Augusta The ceremony at a childcare center wasnt the only time Richardson took the sleek black andwhite copter to Albuquerque or other New Mexico locales to attend news conferences or other events Onaverage Richardson has used it roughly a billsigning ceremony in Albuquerque Instead of driving the 60 miles south the gov Crips gang set to die this morning Please see COPTER Page A4 Stanley Tookie Williams Gov Arnold Schwarzeneg ger said the convicted killer had not owned up to his crimes By David Kravets The Associated Press SAN FRANCISCO Gov Arnold Schwarzenegger refused to block the execution of Stanley Tookie Williams rejecting the notion that the founder of the murderous Crips gang had atoned for his crimes and found redemption on death row With the Supreme Court reject ing his final appeal Williams 51 was set to die by injection at San Quentin Prison early today for murdering four people during two 1979 holdups Williams case became one of the nations biggest deathrow cause cele bre in decades It set off a nationwide debate over the possibility of redemp tion on death row with Hollywood Please see DIE Page A4 OBITUARIES Unemployed Tte Andy Montoya S Sena 2005 Arroyo Seco Dec 11 Anne R Ortiz 6 James Carter 11 The Rev Or fc X f i mi i Santa Fe Dec 10 Beatrice H Lopez Dec 9 John Wallace Cerrillos Dec Fe Dec 9 Page property taxes 1 Page FIRST FEDERAL VIOXX TRIAL ENDS IN HUNG JURY Case involving 2001 death of Florida man who took the oncepopular painkiller will be retried Business D3 Index A NCaRy CHMIWfl 3IMI Annies Horoscope Local Police VICK FALCONS SOAR OVER SAINTS Atlanta keeps its playoff hopes behind QB Michael Vick who ran for two scores and threw for another in a 3617 win Sports Bl Clouds and sun High 48 low 20 PageC6 Scoreboard Sports Stocks Time Out Main Late News Five sections 26 pages 156th year Issue No 347 Publication No 596440 Serving New Mexico for 156 years
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